Oklahoma Takes Down Hofstra, 3-0

Sept. 6, 2008

Oklahoma 3, Hofstra 0 | Box Score: PDF | HTML

	1	2	3	4	5	F
Hofstra	28	9	16	x	x	0
Oklahoma	30	25	25	x	x	3

Stat Leaders
Oklahoma	Statistic	Hofstra
Barnes (18)	Digs	Cruz (10)
Barker (33)	Assists	Cruz (20)
Laplante (12)	Kills	Engle/Calinda (10)
Ekwerekwu (.562)	Hitting %	Engle (.129)
Three with 2	Blocks	Legerretta (4)

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LOS ANGELES - The University of Oklahoma volleyball team closed out the 2008 Holiday Inn City Center Trojan Invitational Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 win over the Hofstra Pride. After keeping the first set close with a 30-28 win, the Sooners (2-4) dominated the second set, 25-9 and took the third set decisively, 25-16 ,to drop the Pride (2-4) at the Galen Center.

"I think we took a lot out of them after the first set. It could have gone either way," said OU head coach Santiago Restrepo. "After we won the first set, we took control of the match."

Junior Bridget Laplante led the scoring attack for OU with 12 kills. Redshirt sophomore Francie Ekwerekwu added 10 kills and posted a game-high .562 hitting percentage. Freshman Brianne Barker tallied her first career double-double with a season-high 14 digs and a team-high 33 assists. Senior Lacy Barnes led the squad in digs with 18, while junior Taylor Harbster added a career-high14 digs.

"Brianne is someone we rely a lot on - not only on offense but on defense," Restrepo added. "She is not only a very good setter but also a very good defender. She has to work on digging the ball first. It was really nice to see her going after so many balls and also serving very well."

The Pride took an early lead in the first set only to see OU rally to take it away on kills from Barker and Ekwerekwu. With OU holding a 12-9 advantage, Hofstra regained the lead following three consecutive OU attack errors. A kill by sophomore Chrissy Disarro brought the Sooners back to within one at 17-16. Hofstra continued to fend off the Sooner attack before a Pride attack error tied the game for a fifth time at 20-all.

The two teams traded the lead another four times before a service error gave OU its first set point at 25-24. The Pride held off the rally on a kill from Taylor Moore, and the two teams traded the lead twice before OU served for their second set point at 28-27.A block from the Pride once again denied the Sooners but a kill from Laplante brought OU to its third set point at 29-28.The Sooners won the marathon set 30-28 following a Hofstra attack error. Laplante and Ekwerekwu led OU in the opening set with six kills apiece. Barnes added eight digs, while Harbster and Barker contributed six each.

The Sooners jumped out early in the second set, forcing Hofstra to call a timeout with the score 8-1. During the rally, Barnes recorded back-to-back service aces, the third and fourth of her career. Aided by four consecutive attack errors by the Pride, OU jumped out to a 13-1 lead before Hofstra added four points to cut that lead to 13-5. The Sooners proved to be too much for the Pride during the set, as OU went on to take a 25-9 win. Oklahoma posted four service aces during the set and held the Pride to a .036 hitting percentage. Barker led the team with three kills during the set, hitting. 429. The Sooners also scored seven of their 25 points with her serving.

Hofstra kept the third set close early by not allowing the Sooners to get up by more than three points. OU finally broke away to take a 12-7 lead following a kill from Ekwerekwu. After a timeout, OU continued to hold the advantage and led 20-13 before forcing the Pride to call another timeout. After a Hofstra attack error, the Sooners put away the Pride with kills from Disarro and freshman Caitlin Higgins to take the set, 25-16 and the match, 3-0.

OU returns to action next weekend, Sept. 12-13, at the Stephen F. Austin Tournament in Nacogdoches, Texas. OU faces Rice on Friday at 11 a.m. CT and host SFA at 7 p.m. The Sooners close out the tournament against Creighton Saturday at 11 a.m. CT and UT-Pan American at 4 p.m. CT.